Where Your Favorite Celebrities Went to College
Yes, they're just like us.
Sometimes we forget that celebrities are just like us. At one point in their life, they likely went to college, where they studied and often earned degrees in a variety of subjects—yes, besides acting. Ahead, we take a look back at celebs and their alma maters. They too pulled all-nighters, drank too much alcohol, and griped about their meal plans.
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By Michelle McNally and Charlotte Chilton
Lady Gaga, New York University
Before she became Lady Gaga, 17-year-old Stefani Germanotta was accepted to the Collaborative Arts Project 21, a music school at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and lived in an NYU dorm. She withdrew during the second semester of her sophomore year to focus on her music career.
Beanie Feldstein, Wesleyan University
Sister of Jonah Hill and childhood BFF to Ben Platt (both attended high school at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles), actress Beanie Feldstein graduated from Wesleyan University in 2015 with a degree in sociology.
Carrie Underwood, Northeastern State University
Before Carrie Underwood won American Idol, she attended Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in mass communications with a concentration in journalism.
Dylan and Cole Sprouse, New York University
The Sprouse brothers chose not to study acting, and attended the Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where students design their own major. Cole majored in archaeology and Dylan majored in video game design.
Kenny Chesney, East Tennessee State University
Although Kenny Chesney graduated with an advertising degree, he spent his free time at the university in the ETSU Bluegrass Band, where he started writing songs and continued working on his music. He played at bars and fraternity parties, recording his first demo album in Bristol, Virginia, in 1989.
Kerry Washington, Georgetown University
Before becoming an incredible actress, Washington lived in Washington, D.C. and attended Georgetown University. The actress graduated in 1998 after creating her own major with a combination of psychology, anthropology, and sociology.
Sandra Bullock, East Carolina University
Bullock graduated from East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, in 1986, where she studied acting in the theater production school.
Steven Spielberg, California State University
Despite dropping out of college in 1968, director Steven Spielberg ended up finishing his education at California State University 34 years later.
Reese Witherspoon, Stanford University
After landing her first major role at the age of 15 in The Man in the Moon, Witherspoon enrolled at Stanford University as an English Literature major. The actress did not complete her degree, as her acting career became too demanding, but her love of books would translate to later success with her production company.
Jessica Chastain, The Julliard School
Chastain graduated from The Julliard School, where she was training in theater, in 2003. The actress was able to attend the performing arts university due to a full scholarship from Robin Williams, who himself graduated from there in 1976.
Matt Damon, Harvard University
Although Damon dropped out of Harvard in 1992, his time there wasn't a total waste. The actor drew inspiration from his time at the Cambridge university for his Oscar-winning screenplay, Good Will Hunting. The school later granted the famous actor an honorary degree.
Jennifer Garner, Denison University
When Garner first arrived at Ohio's Denison University in 1990, she was enrolled as a chemistry major. The actress later changed her focus to theater, worked during the summer months for various acting companies, and graduated with her B.A. in theater in 1994. Recently, Garner delivered the commencement address at her alma mater.
Lupita Nyong'o, Yale University
After graduating from the prestigious Yale School of Drama, Lupita Nyong'o snagged her first major role in 12 Years a Slave, which earned her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
Alec Baldwin, New York University
Baldwin started college at George Washington University, but transferred to New York University after deciding to study acting. The talented comedian graduated with a degree from the prominent Tisch School of the Arts.
Octavia Spencer, Auburn University
Spencer graduated from Alabama's Auburn University in 1994, and two years later landed her first role in the film, A Time to Kill.
Kathryn Hahn, Northwestern University
The comedian attended two prestigious institutions. First, she received her B.A. in Theater from Northwestern University, and then she attended Yale University's School of Drama.
Ken Jeong, Duke University
The former doctor studied pre-med at Duke University before obtaining his medical degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The physician-turned-comedian told students during a speech at the University of Miami that "everybody has a right to pursue what they want. Whatever reality gives you, you make the most of it and make it your own."
Kate Beckinsale, Oxford University
Beckinsale landed her first major film roles while studying French and Russian literature as a student at Oxford University. According to a former classmate, journalist Victoria Coren, the actress was "whip-clever, slightly nuts, and very charming," during her time at University. Beckinsale dropped out before her final year as her acting career was picking up, though the actress has recently voiced her desire to finish her degree.
Téa Leoni, Sarah Lawrence College
Leoni attended the liberal arts college in Bronxville, New York, but did not complete her studies. Instead, the actress moved to St. Croix in the Caribbean and later decided to pursue a career in acting. In 1989, she landed a major role in the television show Santa Barbara and a few years later appeared in A League of Their Own.
Topher Grace, University of Southern California
After attending boarding school in New Hampshire, where he was actively involved in theater, Grace attended the University of Southern California. However, the actor didn't complete his degree. In 1998, when he was 20, Topher dropped out of USC to play Eric Foreman on That '70s Show.
Amy Poehler, Boston College
Poehler graduated from Boston College with a Bachelor's degree in media and communications. She was a member of the college's improvisational comedy troupe called "My Mother's Fleabag."
At the 2014 Golden Globes, Poehler made a joke about her time at Boston College when she linked it to a nominee of the award she was giving. "Masters of Sex is the degree I got from Boston College," she said, high-fiving Tina Fey.
John Legend, University of Pennsylvania
After succeeding in many areas in high school (he was student body president and prom king), Legend was offered admission to Harvard University and given scholarships to Georgetown University and Morehouse College. However, he decided to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied English with an emphasis on African American literature. At college, Legend served as president and musical director of a co-ed jazz and pop a cappella group called "Counterparts."
Kristen Bell, New York University
Bell studied musical theater at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and made her Broadway debut while still a student in a musical version of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Bell, who is an advocate on the importance of openness and acceptance when suffering from depression, first started feeling unlike herself while in college.
"I was at New York University, I was paying my bills on time, I had friends and ambition—but for some reason, there was something intangible dragging me down," Bell said. "Luckily, thanks to my mom, I knew that help was out there—and to seek it without shame."
Giuliana Rancic, University of Maryland
Rancic received a Bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Master's degree in journalism from American University. During this time, she worked for a Capitol Hill news bureau covering stories related to the U.S. government.
Ben Stiller, University of California, Los Angeles
Stiller enrolled as a film student at UCLA, but after nine months he left school to move back to New York City, his hometown. "I was the guy who dropped out and moved back in with his parents," Stiller said in a 2016 interview.
Mindy Kaling, Dartmouth College
At Dartmouth College, Kaling majored in theatre. She created her own comic strip, "Badly Drawn Girl," and performed with the Dog Day Players, an improv group. She also took a semester off to intern for Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
In an interview with New York Magazine, Kaling said, "At Dartmouth College, I was freakin' Jaws in a community swimming pool. I wrote plays, I acted, I sang, I was the student newspaper cartoonist."
She followed with advice for students who were not particularly a "star" at their high school.
"I recommend going to college in the middle of nowhere. I got all the attention I could ever have wanted. If I had gone to NYU, right now I'd be the funniest paralegal in a law firm in Boston."
Lily Collins, University of Southern California
Collins studied broadcast journalism at the University of Southern California before she got her big break at 20 years old, playing Sandra Bullock's daughter in The Blind Side.
Lil Wayne, University of Houston
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., a.k.a. Lil Wayne, attended the University of Houston where he majored in political science. In a 2005 interview with MTV, Lil Wayne talks about his decision to go to college.
"I'm not going back to school," clarified Wayne, who's been making music professionally since he was nine years old and recently acquired his GED. "I'm really going to school for the first time."
Anne Hathaway, Vassar College & NYU
Hathaway spent several semesters studying as an English major and women's studies minor at Vassar College before transferring to New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study. She has referred to her college enrollment as one of her best decisions because she enjoyed being with others who were trying to "grow up."
John Krasinski, Brown University
Krasinski planned to be an English major and deferred his first semester of college to teach English in Costa Rica. He then attended Brown University and graduated as a playwright with honors.
Brooke Shields, Princeton University
Shields attended Princeton University to pursue her Bachelor's degree in French literature. She was a member of the Princeton Triangle Club and the Cap and Gown Club. Her autobiography, On Your Own, was published in 1985, three years before she graduated.
In recent years, Shields has opened up about losing her virginity to her college sweetheart, the future TV Superman Dean Cain.
Emma Watson, Brown University
Watson received her Bachelor's degree in English literature from Brown University. Unlike some celebrities who became famous post-college, Watson had been famous (very famous) for years. In an interview with NY Daily News, a source stated that sometimes Watson's classmates "would respond [to her answer] with a quote from 'Harry Potter.'" The most popular choice was "Three points for Gryffindor."
"I was in denial," Watson said in an E! News interview. "I wanted to pretend I wasn't as famous as I was. I was trying to seek out normality, but I kind of have to accept who I am, the position I'm in and what happened."
Denzel Washington, Fordham University
Washington earned a B.A. in drama and journalism from Fordham University. During his time there, he played basketball as a guard under coach P.J. Carlesimo.
In 2011, Washington gave $2 million to Fordham University to endow the Denzel Washington Chair in Theatre, and also a gift of $250,000 that established the Denzel Washington Endowed Scholarship, which is dedicated to an undergraduate student studying theatre.
Matthew McConaughey, University of Texas at Austin
McConaughey graduated from UT Austin with a Bachelor's degree in radio-television-film. He still regularly visits campus to attend the Longhorn's football games. This summer, the University of Texas at Austin announced that McConaughey will be returning to his alma mater to assist in teaching a filmmaking class.
Kourtney Kardashian, Southern Methodist University & University of Arizona
After two years at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Kardashian transferred to the University of Arizona, Tucson, where she completed her Bachelor's degree in theatre arts and a minor in Spanish. Kardashian told US Weekly that while at college she was stung by a scorpion and failed two classes because she was "too nervous to give speeches."
Julia Stiles, Columbia University
Stiles graduated from Columbia University with a degree in English literature. In 2010, she received the John Jay Award, an annual honorary award given to five alumni by the Columbia College Alumni Association for professional achievements.
Elizabeth Banks, University of Pennsylvania
Banks graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a major in communications and a minor in theater arts. While there, she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority. She then continued her schooling at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, where she earned her MFA.
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Columbia University
Though Gyllenhaal had a few acting roles throughout her teenage years, she chose to step away for a bit to study literature and Eastern religions at Columbia University.
Eva Longoria, Texas A&M University
Longoria received her Bachelor of Science in kinesiology at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. She later earned a Masters in Chicano Studies from California State University, Northridge. She presented her thesis on "Success STEMS From Diversity: The Value of Latinas in STEM Careers."
Rashida Jones, Harvard University
Jones majored in religion and philosophy at Harvard University. She admits that she didn't rebel until college: "I kind of lost my mind for a couple years and went to a lot of raves." Jones addressed the graduating class of 2016 at Harvard's Senior Class Day ceremony that year.
Adam Sandler, New York University
Sandler attended New York University and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. During his freshman year, he was offered a recurring role as the Huxtable's family friend Smitter on The Cosby Show. He also performed regularly in clubs and at universities.
Meryl Streep, Vassar College
Although Streep was involved in several of her high school's plays, she was uninterested in serious theatre until acting in the play Miss Julie while at Vassar College. She also received an Honorary Doctor of Arts degree at Dartmouth College, and her Master of Fine Arts from the Yale School of Drama.
James Franco, University of California, Los Angeles
Franco is arguably the most educated actor. He enrolled at UCLA as an English major, but dropped out after his first year to pursue a career in acting. He later reenrolled with a creative writing concentration. He even received permission to take as many as 62 course credits per quarter compared to the normal limit of 19, while still continuing to act.
He then moved to New York to simultaneously attend graduate school at Columbia University's MFA writing program, New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for filmmaking, and Brooklyn College for fiction writing.
He did this all while also attending the low-residency MFA Program for Writers at North Carolina's Warren Wilson College for poetry. He received his MFA from Columbia in 2010. Franco is a Ph.D. student in English at Yale University and has attended the Rhode Island School of Design. He has also taught classes at NYU and USC.
Zach Braff, Northwestern University
Braff specifically studied at Northwestern University's School of Communication. He became a brother of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and graduated with a B.A. in film.
Ashley Judd, University of Kentucky
At the University of Kentucky, Judd completed a major in French, and minors in Anthropology, Art History, Theater, and Women's Studies. She was also part of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.
Later she graduated from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government with an M.P.A. At Harvard, she was awarded the Dean's Scholar Award for her work in the Harvard Law class, Gender Violence: Law and Social Justice.
Jodie Foster, Yale University
Foster majored in literature at Yale, writing her thesis on Toni Morrison.
"I chose Yale basically for writing and literature," she said. "Of course, you can't be sure—you get your first D and could decide to be a chemistry major."
She returned to Yale in 1993 to address the graduating class, and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the university in 1997.
Rachel Dratch, Dartmouth College
At Dartmouth, Dratch majored in drama and psychology. She was also a member of the improvisational comedy group "Said and Done."
Renée Zellweger, University of Texas at Austin
Zellweger graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1991 with a B.A. in English. While there, she took a drama course as an elective, which sparked her interest in acting.
Will Ferrell, University of Southern California
Ferrell studied sports broadcasting at the University of Southern California. While there, he joined the Delta Tau Delta fraternity and was known for a his pranks—like occasionally dressing in a janitor's outfit and walking into his friends' classes. He was also known for streaking around campus with other Delta Tau Delta friends.
Brad Pitt, University of Missouri
Pitt majored in journalism with a focus in advertising at the University of Missouri. He also joined the Sigma Chi fraternity during his time there. With only two weeks left before earning his degree, Pitt left the university and moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.
Conan O'Brien, Harvard University
At Harvard, O' Brien concentrated in history and literature. During college, he was the drummer in a band called "The Bad Clams," and wrote for the Harvard Lampoon humor magazine. He served as the magazine's president his sophomore and junior years.
O' Brien has also admitted to stealing the outfit worn by Robin in the '60s TV show Batman when it was displayed on campus.
Ashton Kutcher, University of Iowa
At the University of Iowa, Kutcher studied biochemical engineering and joined the Delta Chi fraternity. To earn money for his tuition, Kutcher worked in the cereal department for the General Mills plant in Cedar Rapids, and sometimes sold his own blood.
Lisa Kudrow, Vassar College
Kudrow earned her B.S. in Biology from Vassar College. She intended to follow in her father's footsteps and research headaches. While trying to break into acting, she worked on her father's staff for eight years, earning a research credit on his study about the comparative likelihood of left-handed individuals developing cluster headaches. In 2010, Kudrow delivered the school's commencement address.
Natalie Portman, Harvard University
In an interview with the New York Post in 1999, Portman said, "I don't care if [college] ruins my career. I'd rather be smart than a movie star." She later graduated from Harvard. In 2015, she addressed the graduating class at Harvard's Senior Class Day ceremony.
Jake Gyllenhaal, Columbia University
Gyllenhaal studied for a year at Columbia University before dropping out to pursue acting.
Yes, they're just like us.